Even though I haven’t seen a lot of movies this year, I’ve still seen enough to make a list of films that let me down. Half of this list I actually saw in theaters and the other half didn’t even come out this year. In order to qualify for this list, as you can probably guess at this point, I simply had to have seen the movie this year for the first time (I specify “for the first time” because I did rewatch a couple movies from my childhood that were not as good as I remembered). But enough preamble. Let’s get on with my list of the four movies that really let me down in a big way in 2017:
- White Chicks (Premiered June 23, 2004):
That’s right, everyone. I didn’t see White Chicks until this year. I’d heard people rave about it since 2004 and always meant to watch it, but I never got around to it until a few months ago. And I was disappointed. It really wasn’t all that funny. It’s that classic early 2000s humor, something that has not aged well. I think I only laughed a few times during this movie. It was just so mediocre… but then again, I’ve never found the Wayans brothers’ style of comedy funny to begin with. I wanted to love it, but this white chick found it too dated and stale.
2. The Little Prince (Premiered July 29, 2015):
Based on a children’s book, I was told that this was a wonderful movie with a beautiful story. I liked parts of it, but overall I was just bored. I wasn’t a fan of the animation. The story was difficult to parse out, the line between fantasy and reality blurred towards the end. I really don’t have much to say about this movie. It just wasn’t what I had hoped. It was a disappointment of princely proportions.
3. Beauty & the Beast (Premiered March 17, 2017):
Unlike many, I don’t have that much of an issue with Disney remaking their movies as live action films. They really added a lot to the story of Cinderella, explaining her motivations farther and giving her a prince worthy of her affection. So I was reasonably excited for the live action remake of Beauty & the Beast. Belle is my favorite Disney princess, so I really wanted to see her story expanded upon. Same goes for her relationship with the Beast. Add Ewan McGregor to the mix, and this seemed like a movie with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, it did not live up to that promise. The narrative fixes they make only create more holes and Emma Watson is grossly miscast. Her vocals are disappointing at best and her acting is average. The relationship between this Belle and Beast was somehow less endearing than the one in the cartoon version. The promotion for this movie also really played up LeFou’s gayness, even though it was only explicit for half a second at the end of the movie. It was clear they wanted diversity brownie points without actually taking the risk. This movie was one misstep after another, clearly not meant for critical analysis or repeat viewings. It was a beautiful beast of a disappointment.
4. Baby Driver (Premiered June 28, 2017):
Going to see this film was a spur-of-the-moment decision. My cousin and his wife Anika were visiting and Anika has become sort of like the big sister figure I never had, so we like to do things together just the two of us. We decided to see a movie and this is the one we agreed on. And it was pretty good. It occasionally strains incredulity, but overall it’s a fast-paced, character-driven romp. My main issue was the ending. That’s what broke my suspension of disbelief. What’s more, everyone kept raving about this movie. If anything truly killed it for me, it was the overhyping. And then I found out John Boyega had auditioned for the role of Baby, but they gave it to Ansel Elgort instead. That’s just a downgrade. In the end, despite being an overall good movie, too much of it drove me away from considering it great.
Do you agree with my selections? What were some disappointing movies you saw this year? Tell me about them in the comments!
Strange Storyteller 